Phoebus reacts to GDP announcement

13 August 2026

Richard Pike, chief sales and marketing

“After a relatively strong first quarter, it was widely expected that GDP growth would slow between April and June. The economy's had a genuine external shock this year with the continuing conflict in the Middle East. Energy prices are still high and volatile, and the Bank of England expects inflation to rise again later this year.

“That combination of higher costs and higher rates is squeezing business investment and household confidence at the same time, and a small increase in GDP doesn't undo that backdrop. We're already seeing a similar pattern in housing - June's net mortgage borrowing more than doubled, and property transactions edged up after two months of decline - but in both cases the underlying momentum is far softer than the headline number suggests.

“For lenders, steady growth and market conditions means managing a genuinely heavy workload - a wave of fixed-rate maturities, borrowers facing real payment shock as they roll onto higher rates, and completions still working through the system on a time lag. However, the rise is clearly good news for the economy and should continue to build market confidence overall”.